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Stay Safe
HIV is transmitted through an exchange of certain body fluids
- blood, vaginal secretions, semen and breast milk. Most people
get HIV through:
• Unprotected sex (vaginal, anal or oral) with an infected
person.
• Sharing drug needles, syringes (shooting drugs) with
an infected person.
• Pregnancy, childbirth or breast feeding when the mother
is HIV positive
You can't become infected with HIV by: hugging, touching, sneezing,
coughing, playing sports, sharing eating utensils, or sharing
a bathroom with a person who is infected with HIV. Mosquitoes,
fleas and other insects don't transmit HIV either.
What are ways to reduce the risk of HIV or other
STD transmission?
What are treatment options for HIV/AIDS
and other STDs?
What is the risk of HIV and other STD
transmission from oral sex?
Ways To Reduce
The Risk Of HIV/STD's? |
• Choose not to have sex, or make an agreement
with a partner who is not HIV-positive to be sexually
faithful to each other, and stick to it.
• Use a condom for vaginal or anal sexual intercourse,
and barrier methods, such as a condom or dental dam,
for oral sex.
• Do not share needles for injection drug use.
• Get tested!
And ask partners to do the same.
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Treatment Options For HIV/AIDS/STD's? |
Treatment options depend on the kind of STD: bacterial,
viral, or parasitic. Bacterial and parasitic infections
are generally easily cured with medications prescribed
by a health care provider. Viral infections, like HIV,
while not curable, can be treated. With these kinds
of infections, medications can help to control some
of the symptoms, even though there is no cure. Viruses
can still be spread even without symptoms. Regardless
of the type of STD, it is important that both partners
receive treatment so that they do not re-infect each
other.
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Risk Of HIV/STD Transmission From Oral Sex? |
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), oral sex is not "safe sex."
While the risk of getting HIV through oral sex is lower
than through vaginal or anal sex, just how much lower
is hard to know. It is possible to contract HIV and
other STDs such as herpes or gonorrhea through unprotected
oral sex. To reduce your risk, experts advise using
a condom or other barrier method (such as a dental dam)
during oral sex.
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* Text courtesy of KNOW HIV/AIDS, a partnership
of Viacom and the Kaiser Family Foundation
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